The legal basis for the rehabilitation of torture victims could be drawn from either constitutional or legislative provisions, or through other policy decisions or directives, including for example enhancing existing programmes through additional budget allocations to respond to new or changing circumstances. The working group discussion on legislation, policy guidance and action plans focused on the following key questions: a) Do provisions already exist in national legislation to provide rehabilitation to torture victims and mechanisms for funding specialized rehabilitation services? If not, b) is there alternative legislation or a policy that provides for rehabilitation to other victims’ groups, such as victims of crime, human trafficking or sexual or domestic violence that could be amended and adapted to cover torture victims? c) Will adapting other services effectively respond to the specific needs of torture victims? During the discussion, participants focused on different types of legislation in the OSCE region that provide for the right to rehabilitation. Participants discussed the examples presented in the CTI/ODIHR tool that refer specifically to anti-torture laws and “victims of crime” legislation such as the EU legislation on rights of victims of crime or the United States’ victims support legislation with domestic and global coverage. The roundtable further discussed national laws on health, asylum or migration, or prisons, where the right to rehabilitation could be located. Regarding access to rehabilitation, it was observed that reliance on general anti-torture constitutional guarantees was sometimes too circuitous or remote, requiring the constitution to be read to include international treaty obligations such as Article 14 of the UNCAT.11 Challenges in relation to “victims of crime” legislation were raised, for example that some laws require a final verdict of guilt prior to compensation or other forms of redress, including rehabilitation. It was mentioned that early access to rehabilitation, as part of Article 14 according to the UNCAT,12 helps in court proceedings by making torture victims more reliable witnesses and avoiding delayed or discontinued proceedings owing to the recurrence of trauma of the victim/witness. Early access was also noted as a good practice in the asylum context: by providing early access to rehabilitation for asylum-seekers, they are better prepared to present their claim for refugee status. In this context, a specific challenge was mentioned: the challenge of ensuring the swift processing of asylum applications, while balancing the extra stress and pressure this can place on asylum-seekers who are victims of torture. Participants agreed on the importance of making information about the right to rehabilitation and the access to services as widely known as possible. Regarding the territorial applicability of the right to rehabilitation, promising examples where legislation covered both domestic and international victims (either through humanitarian or aid allocations, or by allowing victims to make complaints for harm alleged to have been committed abroad) were discussed. It was agreed that torture victims should be recognized, and rehabilitation 11 Article 14 UNCAT, General Assembly resolution 39/46 of 10 December 1984: “1. Each State Party shall ensure in its legal system that the victim of an act of torture obtains redress and has an enforceable right to fair and adequate compensation, including the means for as full rehabilitation as possible. In the event of the death of the victim as a result of an act of torture, his dependants shall be entitled to compensation. 2. Nothing in this article shall affect any right of the victim or other persons to compensation which may exist under national law.” 12 UN Committee against Torture, General Recommendation: Implementation of Article 14 by States parties, CAT/C/GC/3, 13 December 2012. 11